Yunbelievable, yunstoppable, and yunyielding are all fictional words that are being used throughout the YU world to describe the Maccabees new starting point guard, Richard Yu.

The 6”3 guard is the first Asian American to ever play for the YU Maccabees, and his extraordinary performance at the end of the season has made him an instant fan favorite. But how on earth did he end up on the Maccabees?

It all started on a cold December afternoon, according to the Macabees’ head coach Jonathan Halpert. The team was going through its worst losing streak since the pre-Martin days, so Halpert did what all depressed Jews do; went for Chinese food. While he was waiting on line, he saw Yu preparing dishes in the kitchen, and he instantly knew he had found somebody special. “The way he was tossing the chicken in the wok-pan was like something out of Cirque Du Soleil. I had never seen someone so coordinated in my life!” Halpert exclaimed. When it was finally the coach's turn to order, he asked the manager if he could speak to Yu, and ten minutes later they were sitting down together discussing business. 

Halpert asked Yu if he had ever played basketball before, and Yu humbly acknowledged that he loves basketball and is actually pretty good. Yu was then invited to the next team practice, where he wowed the entire team with his skills. After seeing Yu’s skills first hand, Coach Halpert was desperate to add him to the roster, but unfortunately Yu was not a student of YU, since he could not afford full tuition. But hope was not yet lost. Halpert discovered that Yu was a foreign citizen, and that, combined with his height, easily qualified him for an academic merit scholarship. 

Although Yu quickly became the star of the team, his transition to daily YU life has been far from easy. He has faced a lot of trouble when it comes to the dual curriculum, since he had no prior knowledge of Tanach or Hebrew. For this reason, YU decided to make Hebrew and Bible mandatory subjects, so that Yu wouldn’t be embarrassed. He also faced some issues with The Associate, when an anonymous student leader compared him to a kamikaze pilot, enraging the professors in the YC math department.

Despite all the hardships, Yu is enjoying himself a lot. He is excelling on the court and working towards a degree in economics. He has also become a popular guy with the Stern ladies, prompting him to tell our reporters “I hope I don’t end up with a Jap, or my grandmother in China will freak.”